Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza are stalling over the extent of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday.
The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are nonetheless expected to continue, the sources said, despite the latest obstacles in clinching a deal.
A Palestinian source said that Hamas has rejected the withdrawal maps which Israel has proposed, as they would leave about 40 per cent of the territory under Israeli control, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza.
Two Israeli sources said Hamas wants Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire before it renewed its offensive in March.
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The Palestinian source said matters regarding aid and guarantees for ending the war were also presenting a challenge, and added that the crisis may be resolved with more US intervention.
The White House said on Monday that US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there.
Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement which envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would end the fighting only when all hostages are released and Hamas is dismantled.
The war began on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive.
Israel’s subsequent campaign against Hamas has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and a second man was shot dead, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement, in a confrontation overnight.
US citizen Sayafollah Musallet (20), also known as Saif, was severely beaten in the incident on Friday evening in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said. Hussein Al-Shalabi (23) was shot in the chest.
Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, said in a statement that medics tried to reach him for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance, but that he died before reaching the hospital.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face. We demand the US state department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes,” the family statement said.
A US state department spokesperson said on Friday it was aware of the incident, but that the department had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
The Israeli military said Israel was investigating the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
The military said forces were dispatched to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowds.
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, according to rights groups.
Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank. - Reuters
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